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wobbly gloxinia
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Posted by rosemaryjane z5 IA (My Page) on Mon, Mar 28, 05 at 16:55
| I was given a gloxinia as a gift last year--so beautiful but as I have discovered, so much work! So, it went dormant, I repotted the tuber after a couple of months and about a month or so ago it started growing again. Now he leaves are plentiful and healthy looking, and everything seemed to be going well. Except the other morning it kind of looked lop-sided and I gave it a little push and was startled to find that the base of the plant is VERY wobbly. I have been told in the case of african violets that means it has root damage (like from over-watering.) I'm confused as to how this could happen... i thought i had the hang of watering it properly last year.
Is there anything else that could be causing it to become so wobbly? Maybe this is normal and I never noticed it before. It is leggier than it was last year (not as much light in this location, but my only other option was placing it where it could get too much light and burn the leaves.) Also, I've been fertilizing it with every watering so I will hopefully get lots of blooms soon, but can you kill a plant's root system with too much fertilizer?
Any suggestions/ideas/help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks kindly,
rosemary jane |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: wobbly gloxinia
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| You definitely can kill a plant's root system with too much fertilizer, but I'm betting the main problem is not enough light. Sinningias (common name gloxinia, a different species entirely actually) need a lot of light and people often have trouble growing them in the house because they need so much more than other plants in the same (gesneriad) family like African Violets and Streps. |
RE: wobbly gloxinia
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- Posted by Jon_D Northern Calif. (My Page) on
Tue, Mar 29, 05 at 14:15
| The roots come from the tuber, so if the plant is wobbly then the questions is: Does the tuber wobble too. I suspect the condition is caused by the weak spot where the stem comes up from the tuber. There is nothing that can be done for this now. It probably needs more light, both to grow more compactly and to set lots of buds. But, at least with your feeding you are building up the tuber. Its not too late though to flower and enjoy the plant as it is. I would put in some small stakes, such as bamboo skewers to support the growth, so that it doesn't lean or, worse, break off. If there are buds in the crown then it is going to flower. If not, then move it to a brighter location. Florist Gloxinias are easy to root and propagate. You can root crowns or leaves quite easily in an enclosed environment and in good light. Jon |
RE: wobbly gloxinia
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Rosemary,
Leginess seems to be a characteristic of florist gloxinias. I have read on the AGGS forum that the best thing to do (besides good light)is pot the soil up to the lowest set of leaves. If the first baby leaves are still there, you can strip them and pot up the the next lowest. The newly potted portion will root given high humdity. I have learned this after removing two plants from the tuber. (Mine went into dormancy and three little guys popped up instead of one.)
-CG |
Here is a link that might be useful: AGGS Gloxinia Forum
RE: wobbly gloxinia
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| thanks so much for all the info. very helpful stuff! |
RE: wobbly gloxinia
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| Tubers don't wobble, if its bad it will be mushy. If your plant wobbles the tuber is not deep enough in the pot, add soil to the pot after you find the tuber is in good condition. |
RE: wobbly gloxinia
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| Smurfy Grower - Cannot agree with you on 100%. If sinningia wobbles - it is usually not enough light - weak stem - and to stake it very carefully and add light is the best you can do.
The tuber is usually stable. And if I would be adding soil to the top - I would be really adding a little - some of the sinningias like the tubers to be halfway out, some just under the surface. Not too deep. But - the post is 4 years old - I bet the situation is already resolved. Irina, the floppy sinningia grower. |
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